Daniel Radcliffe will play the lead role in the upcoming movie based on the World War I novel All Quiet On The Western Front by German author Erich Maria Remarque.
All Quiet on the Western Front, adapted for the bigscreen in 1930 and directed by Lewis Mileston, won the Oscar for Best Picture.
The story centres on soldier Paul Bäumer (Radcliffe) a young German soldier fighting in the trenches of France and how he and his colleagues adapt to fighting in World War I.
Check out a synopsis for Remarque's novel All Quiet on the Western Front:
All Quiet on the Western Front is narrated by Paul Bäumer, a young man of nineteen who fights in the German army on the French front in World War I.
Paul and several of his friends from school joined the army voluntarily after listening to the stirring patriotic speeches of their teacher, Kantorek.
But after experiencing ten weeks of brutal training at the hands of the petty, cruel Corporal Himmelstoss and the unimaginable brutality of life on the front, Paul and his friends have realized that the ideals of nationalism and patriotism for which they enlisted are simply empty clichés.
They no longer believe that war is glorious or honorable, and they live in constant physical terror.
Ian Stokell and Lesley Paterson wrote the script and will produce the film through their production company Sliding Down Rainbows Entertainment.
“Daniel brings a vulnerability and innocence to Paul. When we realized how much he loved the script we were really excited because we know he can tap into the delicate balance between intensity and believability that is critical for this demanding role,” Stokell said.
Shooting on All Quiet on the Western Front will begin in the spring of 2012.
